Right to Repair

INTERNATIONAL/ GOVERNANCE/ ENVIRONMENT

Topic:

• GS-2: Effect of policies and politics of developed and developing countries on India 
• GS-2: Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation
• GS-3: Environmental Conservation

Right to Repair

Context:  In recent years, countries around the world have been attempting to pass effective ‘right to repair’ laws. 

What is right to repair movement?

• When electronic appliances become old or face issues, consumers are left at the mercy of manufacturers who make repairs inaccessible for most, by dictating who can fix your device and making it an inordinately expensive affair.
  • The tech giant has long been criticised for allowing repairs of its devices only by authorised technicians and not providing spare parts or manuals on how to fix its products
• Also, Corporates are promoting the culture ‘planned obsolescence’ — which means that devices are designed specifically to last a limited amount of time and to be replaced
• In this backdrop, activists and organisations around the world have been advocating for the right of consumers to be able to repair their own electronics and other products as part of the ‘right to repair’ movement. 
• The movement traces its roots back to the very dawn of the computer era in the 1950s.
• The goal of the movement is to get companies to make spare parts, tools and information on how to repair devices available to customers and repair shops to increase the lifespan of products and to keep them from ending up in landfills.
• The Right to Repair electronics refers to government legislation that is intended to allow consumers the ability to repair and modify their own consumer electronic devices, where otherwise the manufacturer of such devices require the consumer to use only their offered services.

Benefits of Right to Repair

• Avoids wastage of resources: Without Right to Repair, there will be wastage of natural resources causing immense pressure on the environment. It will help reduce the vast mountain of electrical waste (e-waste) that piles up each year on the continent.
• Boosts Local Economy: Right to repair advocates also argue that this will help boost business for small repair shops, which are an important part of local economies.
• Reduces Prices of Repair: If a manufacturer has monopoly on repairs, then prices rise exponentially and quality tends to drop. Repair manual in the market will bring down the cost of offering such a service.
• Circular Economy: It will contribute to circular economy objectives by improving the life span, maintenance, re-use, upgrade, recyclability and waste handling of appliances.
• Durable devices:  Some believe manufacturers of electronic devices may even start making their products more durable and long lasting.

But why do electronic manufacturers oppose this movement?

Large tech companies, including Apple, Microsoft, Amazon and Tesla, have been lobbying against the right to repair. 

• Misuse & compromise on safety: Their argument is that opening up their intellectual property to third party repair services or amateur repairers could lead to exploitation and impact the safety and security of their devices.
• Tesla, for instance, has fought against right to repair advocacy, stating that such initiatives threaten data security and cyber security.

• These companies are constantly claiming that they are working towards greater durability themselves, hence there is no need of such legislations.

Do You Know?

• Earlier this month, the UK government introduced right-to-repair rules with the aim of extending the lifespan of products by up to 10 years. 
• Manufacturers of products like washing machines, TVs and refrigerators are required to make spare parts available to people purchasing electrical appliances. 
• The new legislation gives manufacturers a two-year window to make the necessary changes to abide by the new legislation.
• However, it does not cover all electrical appliances. It includes dishwashers, washing machines, refrigeration appliances and televisions. Smartphones and laptops, however, have been excluded.

Connecting the dots:

• Circular Economy
• E-Waste Problem